Selena Kyle was dead to begin with. You, my readers, must remember this as I
retell this tale or nothing on this page will be extraordinary. This, though, is
true, for Helena Kyle, Selena's beloved daughter, saw the blood mix with the
rain, her cries for help drowned in the thunder of the angry night sky. Helena's
life forever changed that night as her helpless tears became a powerful rage
that only one woman, a paralyzed school teacher, could soothe. That rage soon
became a weapon, one used for good in the lost city of New Gotham as Helena
became the Huntress, a defender of the weak, and she was good at it. That is,
until a mad woman tore through her life seven years later, destroying the one
place she ever knew of as home, Barbara Gordon's heart. It was then three weeks
later to the day that this story begins, one snowy Christmas Eve night.

<One of the security cameras on Rainier street shows a girl approximately twenty,
twenty one years of age walking with a suspicious man about thirty years old a
couple hundred paces behind her.>

"Finally, some action," Helena murmured, watching her young partner fidget with
her new costume. She hated to admit it, but it looked nice on her, and Dinah
looked so much like her mother in it. "You keep doing that and it will itch
more, trust me. Leave it alone."

"Says the woman who never wore a mask," Dinah shot back.

"Don't get smart with me," Helena snapped.

<Girls! Mission!>

"You know the routine. Rainier's three blocks ahead. I'll be up top," Helena
said as if Barbara hadn't spoken.

"Meet you there," Dinah said, putting her mask a little higher on her face. When
she looked back again, Helena was gone and Dinah rolled her eyes.

Fourteen stories up, Helena peered over the edge and down at the young blonde,
who started running towards Rainier. The half-metahuman silently wished Barbara
would let her start training Dinah on the cables to make the sweeps go by
faster. She hated looking over her shoulder every few minutes to make sure the
girl didn't get hurt. If she were to get herself killed, Helena would never
hear the end of it from Oracle, and she already had a headache from the awful
Christmas music Leonard insisted on playing since the day after Thanksgiving.
Helena leaped from the fourteen story building - a bank headquarters - down to a
nine story office building. She felt almost free as she listened to her boots
crunch the snow under her, and was momentarily thankful for footwear that was
slip and fall proof. Crime fighting was so much easier when you weren't falling
on your ass every few minutes.

Helena was surprised by the scene as she looked below her after jumping to a
five story apartment building, as there was a young woman standing on a well
lit, but secluded sidewalk facing her attacker with a blank face. The girl, from
Helena's angle was lanky, seeming to look her attacker in the eye, challenging
him. The man had a gun pointed at her chest and was shouting at her. Still, the
young woman didn't move or speak. This girl was either brave or stupid, Helena
decided, and then figured she was a little bit of both, but said nothing out
loud. She wanted to make her sure interference won't get her killed, so she
stayed where she was and watched. The girl was indeed about twenty-one, and
looked to be of Native American ethnicity. Her black hair in the light had a bit
of brown in it, and it was long, down to the middle of her back.

About a block away, Dinah appeared, but once she saw Helena, she stopped,
waiting for some sort of signal from her. The two crime fighters locked eyes, and
Helena nodded visibly to her, allowing her to slowly walk the rest of the way.
Helena waiting for the girl to get close enough, then jumped down to the ground
behind the man. Before he could figure out what was happening, the brunette
woman had an arm locked around the man's neck and kicked at his hand, the one
holding the gun. Dinah got to the scene and kicked the gun away from the
grappling pair. Then she hid the black haired woman in the doorway of a business
and out of sight of the man and Helena, even though Helena could still sense
their presence.

The man soon passed out from the lack of oxygen, and Helena walked over to where
the two young women were. "You can come out now. I took care of 'im." Helena
hauled the man over her shoulder and watched as Dinah coaxed the young woman out
of their hiding place and onto the sidewalk more, Dinah rubbing her back as she
spoke to her. "Get her home, then you get on home, too."

"Will you be by later?" Helena stared at her blankly before speaking.

"Why?" She hadn't meant to sound as if it was the dumbest idea she had ever
heard, but she couldn't take the words back once they had been said, and Helena
had the sense to know that a simple 'I'm sorry' wouldn't do the trick, so she
stayed silent. To give Dinah credit where it was due, she hid her hurt well, but
there was the smallest of posture changes that Helena had picked up.

"No reason, I guess," she said, though Helena could hear the unspoken words she
wanted to say. 'It's only Christmas, but never mind.' "What about tomorrow?"

"Don't count on it," the brunette said in a tired tone. Helena turned and walked
towards the police station and heard a sigh behind her.

"Alright. Well... Merry Christmas, then."

"Yeah, you too, Kid," Helena replied absently. She kept her head down against
the wind as it blew white flakes against her, picking up speed at the same time
she did. She kept her senses open, knowing that no one was near her except for
the two women behind her, and they were going in the other direction. Slowly, a
small police station appeared in her vision, and she wondered if the great
detective was still there, filling out paper work while criminals were asleep in
their cells hoping Santa would bring them packs of cigarettes for Christmas. She
peeked in the window and saw that, sure enough, Detective Jesse Reece sat at his
computer, typing up notes from his notepad onto his document. He looked up and
sighed at the sight of the man on Helena's shoulder. They both knew that it all
meant that Reece had yet more paperwork to do in order to cover up Huntress'
involvement in this man's arrest. The dark skinned man was tempted to throw all
of the untyped paperwork into the shredder, let the criminals go with a slap on
the wrist and a firm verbal warning, and call it a night.

"What'd he do? Correction: What'd he almost do before you whooped his butt?"
That actually earned him a small smile before Helena replied.

"Attempted robbery and who knows what else. He was stalking some girl on Rainier
street, and Oracle says that there's a security camera over Anthony's Pizza on
that street that caught the whole thing if it will make the paperwork go by
faster," Helena supplied.

"It won't, but thank you for the tip."

"You got plans for tomorrow?"

"Mom's got my dad on some heart healthy diet, so I told them I had to work
tomorrow. I'll drop by, probably after the Tofurkey's gone." He made a face.

"You could hang with the family. Bloodhound, Oracle, Canary, The Butler, The
Kid's Little Blonde Friend, you know-"

"Wait, Dinah's got a friend who knows about headquarters?"

"No, Oracle's hosting the shin-dig over at her place. She and Canary have been
living there instead of headquarters like before, and they go there on weekends
and after school." Jesse nodded, and Helena unloaded the man onto the floor. He
groaned and rolled into a more comfortable position, but said nothing, hoping
that playing dead would make things easier on him. "Anything else you need from
me?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I've got everything. I'll just use a statement from another
guy you've bagged for us, and reword some things."

"Ah, good fun," Helena muttered, and Reece rolled his eyes. "Well, I will see
you around, Detective."

"You're not going to the shin-dig tomorrow?"

"Nope, I'm going to make like a bear and hibernate until Easter. I don't much
like all this snow."

"What about Canary and Oracle?"

"They'll live. I'll be around. I just can't handle it all right now," Helena
said with a shrug.

"Now is the best time to be with family-"

"Like you and the Tofurkey."

"Touché'." Reece looked at the wall clock. "Wow, eleven-fifteen. I better get
back to work. I really do hope things work out for you."

"You too. If you're serious about all that family stuff, maybe you should give
Tofurkey a try so your dad won't have to suffer alone." Reece smiled and nodded,
and Helena left. "Oracle, I am going offline. See you around."

<I thought you were going to watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' with us tonight. You
did promise Dinah that you would.> Huh. Dinah didn't say anything like that back
on Rainier street when she was taking care of the girl. She tried her best to be
strong and pretended to shrug it off. Helena shrugged, knowing Oracle wouldn't
be able to see it.

"She's tough. She'll get over it," she said somewhat coldly. There was a sigh,
and Helena knew it had disappointment all over it, but she ignored it.

<Goodnight, Helena.>

" 'Night." She jumped from roof to roof, climbing the fire escapes and landing
on balconies, but once she got to the top of the tallest building in the area,
she froze. "No, that's impossible."

Now, you must remember that Selena Kyle died more than seven years before, her
body barely more than a skeleton by the time this story took place. A chill went
down Helena's spine that had nothing to do with the snowy weather all around
her, for she felt a presence near her that shouldn't have been there at all.
Being on a rooftop at eleven-fifteen on Christmas Eve, no one should have been
there- not even the brunette- but the half-meta knew that something was wrong.
She felt her mother there just as she had when she was in the school play at the
age of fifteen. She had known she was there, but never saw her in the house
seats. It was, as Helena said, impossible for her presence to be there then.
Selena was dead.

Helena broke into a run. Surely she was just imagining things because she missed
her mother so much, especially this time of year. She didn't stop until she
reached the Dark Horse Bar, her home sweet home for the time being. She put her
key into the lock and something caught her her attention. She looked at her
reflection in the glass. Standing elegant as she had ever been was Selena Kyle.
Though feral, her eyes were sad as Helena's matching feral eyes were angry.
Selena wore the same blue business suit she had died in. They locked eyes in the
glass, and Helena couldn't move or speak. When her mother's reflection moved to
touch her shoulder, she cried out in surprise and fright, and moved away. Her
sharp cry echoed in the night, but no one seemed to hear it. When she looked
back at the glass, her reflection was alone. The woman frowned, convincing
herself that it was all in her head, that she was just tired and she'd be better
in the morning.

Helena walked slowly up the stairs after locking the glass doors behind her and
made her way to her small studio, where she spread her coat over the back of her
desk chair and opened her refrigerator door. "Hmmm," she murmured to herself,
as no one, not even a presence, was there to hear her. "Slim pickin's tonight."
She closed the door and sat on her bed, turning the TV on. A black and white
movie was on, and remembering her promise to the blonde girl to watch 'It's A
Wonderful Life' with her, as was the tradition she and Barbara had continued
about six years ago, she switched the channel. Not out of guilt, she told
herself firmly, but because the movie was boring... Yeah, boring. The news was
on, and when she saw that it was a bunch of carolers, she turned the TV off
completely with a muttered, "Humbug,". She looked at her blank TV screen for a
moment, and then settled down to sleep.

She hadn't been a sleep for very long when something woke her about a half an
hour later; a sudden chill across her slim body caused her eyes to open and her
whole body go feral. Looking around, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She
looked at the clock and saw that it was midnight on the dot. She checked her
window and saw that it wasn't open. In fact, it was tightly shut, and she
couldn't seem to explain away the sudden chill as she rubbed her arms. When she
turned around, however, she was face to face with her mother, and Helena jumped
at the sudden sight of her, having not heard or felt her first. She put a hand
over her eyes and counted to ten, then lowered it. When she looked again, her
mother was gone. Helena sighed with relief. "It hurts me to see you this way,
Kitten. It's so much colder inside than it will ever be out there." Helena
turned quickly to see her mother sitting on her bed where she had just been a
moment ago. Her right leg was crossed over her left, and she was watching her.
Selena went on, "You've got people in your life who love you, and you're pushing
them away. You're lucky they're willing to push back." Helena couldn't seem to
find her voice. "I've seen your future, sweetheart. I know exactly what will
happen if you continue to be this way, and I love you too much to let that
happen to you." Selina got up and approached her daughter. "You're a strong
young woman, Helena, and I know that you can rise above this pain if you'll just
hold on." The older Kyle looked thoughtful, the said, "I have a few friends who
will come visit you-"

"Oh Mom, you're not going to pull a Dickens on me are you?" And there's the
proof she needed that she'd flipped. She decided then that she was completely
insane. It was one thing when she saw the images, but to speak back? Can you say
'coo coo'? Either way, Selena smiled a slow smile, and the young woman couldn't
help but grin back. Yup, craziness on a stick.

"I know... I know, but it is the only way I think you will see what is going on
in your life, Helena. So. You know the drill. Expect your first visitor when the
clock strikes one. I wish I could stay, but I was only given a moment or two to
give you that message." She wrapped her arms around her daughter, and Helena was
surprised by the fact that she could feel her mother, that she was solid. She
forced herself to not just physically let go of her mother. "Remember Kitten,
when the clock strikes one, so I suggest you get some sleep. Tonight is going to
be a long night for you." With those words, Selena Kyle vanished and was gone.

Helena sat down on her bed and could only think one word. 'Fuck.' Really, just
'fuck'. She knew that no matter what, this wasn't good. If she hadn't just
imagined all of that, then she was about to have a ghost fest worthy enough to
make that kid from 'The Sixth Sense' piss his pants. If she HAD just imagined
all of that, then... Well, she really had some problem on her hands, and she
might as well keep Arkham Asylum on speed dial. Maybe it was just stress. If
anything, she could take her mother's ghost's advice and get some sleep. It
would all go away in the morning. After all, she HAD told Reece that she wanted
to hibernate the winter away. She sat above her blankets, then slowly lay her
head down and drifted off to sleep.

Not long after Helena fell into a short, dreamless sleep did she awaken. Again,
someone was in her room. At her window was a glowing figure who approached her.
"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" Helena sat up and looked into the eyes of her
crime fighting partner.

"Dinah, what the hell are you doing at my apartment? Better yet, how the hell
did you get in here?" The blonde grinned, and Helena felt her anger rising.

"I am actually not Dinah." If Helena hadn't heard the thick accent, she would
have said that the figure was lying and to go home and never go to her apartment
again, but she stood up and watched the figure closely.

"Are you the 'friend' my mother told me about?"

"I am,"

"Well... You don't need to take the shape of Dinah. It sort of creeps me out."

"Yes, your usage of the word 'Hell' makes me very much believe that you're
creeped out. You know what I think?"

"I didn't ask, and no, I don't care."

"I think you don't like the sight of Dinah because you've got a guilty
conscious.
Which is good, you know. It means there's a heart in there somewhere. Either
way, I will switch into another form. One that won't so called 'creep you out'."
The image of Dinah grew a few inches and darkened. The muscles on her arms got
larger, and the hair shortened and darkened. Before her then was a tall African
American man who looked as if he could really do some damage to her, meta or
not, if she pissed him off. "Better?"

"Yes. Thank you." She said, not out of politeness, but out of habit when someone
says 'Better?'.

"My name's Edgar, Eddy, Ed... Ghost of Christmas Past if you will. Or Past for
short."

"You don't shut up, do you?" Helena muttered.

"I heard that, and yes, I do. I just choose to keep talking simply to piss you
off, and you can't do anything because, why? Because you can't hurt a dead
person. Now, let's get going. I have lots to show you. Ready?"

"Will I ever be ready for some Ghost to show me a past I've tried to forget?
Probably not."

"Come on. I've got lots to show you," he said again. A thought
occurred to Helena
that made her curious.

"How will we get there? To the past, I mean?" Her snarkiness slowly leaving, she
looked up at the tall Spirit.

"We'll jump."

"Somehow, I should have seen that one coming."

"Take my hand, and we'll jump. If you don't, you'll just land on the ground like
normal, but if you take my hand, we'll enter the past with my uber cool spirit
magic." Helena smiled at that.

" 'Uber Cool Spirit Magic' sounds like the name of a teeny bopper girl group,"
Helena said, and Past shrugged. Helena reached out for his hand and felt a sense
of familiarity about the Ghost. "Tell me Spirit, have we ever met in life?"
Helena asked. To this question, both seemed to calm their battle of sarcasm, and
Edgar answered her seriously.

"Oh no, I lived- and died- long before you were born. Long before your mother,
even."

"Then how'd you come to be friends with my mother?"

"It's a big place, Heaven," he said as they went to the window together. On the
count of three, they jumped from the window. What would have been the sturdy
ground under them became a bright white light beneath them. It seemed to swallow
them up. They landed on a solid surface, and Helena was less than a foot away
from a little girl sitting on her apartment's fire escape- her at age eight.
Helena remembered this day immediately, especially when her mother, younger by
eight years, came out of the apartment to join her.

"What's the matter, Helena? You've been sad all week and you're not talking to
me. You always tell me what is going on." The girl still didn't say anything,
knowing that her concerns were stupid. "Come on, now. It's Christmas Eve. You
should be happy and excited. You get to open a present tonight, we're gonna
watch 'It's a Wonderful Life', make hot chocolate, and while we're sleeping,
Santa will come-"

"No he won't, Mom," the young girl said glumly. Selena played with the girl's
hair and took out the rubber band that tamed it, letting it fall to her back.
That was the only time other than when she washed it that it wasn't in a long
braid or ponytail.

"Is that what has been bothering you, sweetie? Are you afraid he won't come this
year?" Young Helena nodded. "What gave you that impression?"

"Bobby Gheller found out last year that is dad was Santa Clause because he fell
or somethin' and his beard came off. He was telling everyone about it. And I've
been thinking. That song 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause' makes sense now.
But..." The girl wiped her eyes. "I don't have a dad, so there is no Santa
Clause for me... No one for you," young Helena explained to her mother. Selena
stood up and picked up the eight year old.

"It makes sense now how she was able to carry me around so easily if she needed
to. I just thought that all mothers were strong enough to carry their children
no matter how big they got," the older brunette said. Selena carried the small
girl inside and sat with her on the couch. Inside, the apartment was decorated
with Christmas lights, paper snowflakes, and a couple of gingerbread houses, one
missing most of its peppermint roof due to Helena's constant picking at it.
Selena stroked her daughter's hair and thought of a good way to explain things
to her.

"Maybe Bobby Gheller was right about something, Kitten. Maybe his father IS
Santa Clause- Nonono, listen," Selena said when the girl started to protest.
"Santa Clause is not completely a person, okay? Santa Clause is the spirit of
Christmas. He represents what Christmas is all about. You know what Christmas is
about, right?"

"Family and giving and receiving and togetherness," the girl rattled off.

"Right you are. It is a celebration of life and family. That man in the red suit
is just what all of us recognize, but if he is the spirit of Christmas, then
that means that anyone can be Santa Claus. If they've got the spirit of
Christmas within them, then they are Santa Clause. Even you're Santa Clause,
Helena. If you let the spirit of Christmas touch you, then Santa Clause will
always come to you. You must always remember that, all year 'round. Do you
understand?"

"I think so. Santa Clause will come tonight because I have the spirit of
Christmas within me."

"That's my girl. As for me... I've got someone special in my life and that is
you. I don't need anyone else." She watched her daughter for a moment. "C'mon.
Let's make some hot cocoa, put on 'A Charlie Brown Christmas', and snuggle up."

"What about 'It's a Wonderful Life'?"

"We can watch that tonight, after dinner. Right now, I think we need some
holiday cheer." Young Helena smiled, and kissed her mother.

"Thank you, Mom."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Young Helena got up off of her mother's lap and Selena
gave her a pat on the butt before she, too, got up and went into the kitchen
while the girl rifled through the VHS tapes.

"Your mother was a wise woman," Past murmured beside the grown up Helena.

"Yeah, she was amazing."

"Let's jump from here. There's more." Past reached out, and Helena didn't
hesitate to take it. Part of her wondered what more she would be shown, but most
of her already knew. They climbed the rail of the fire escape, and again a
bright white light swallowed them up into another scene. She felt movement
coming towards her and ducked, but she was too late, as a Santa Clause ornament
went through her and shattered against the wall behind her.

"Helena! Alfred was only trying to help!" Barbara, looking tired and sad, newly
paralyzed, wheeled over to the teenaged Helena, about seventeen then, and
grabbed her arm. The girl had fire in her eyes, and her cat-like powers had just
come to her, making her grief into a rage that wouldn't ever settle down. She'd
taken a pair of scissors the week before and chopped her hair until there was
hardly anything there, and Barbara had worked on it a little more to make it
presentable. Though the teen could have easily broken the hold on her arm, since
Barbara had gotten out of yet another surgery and was weakened, she lowered the
1995 ornament that was about to meet the same fate as jolly old St. Nick. "Just
leave them up, please. For Heaven sake, it's Christmas Eve-"

"Christmas is dead!" Helena's teen self startled even the grown up shadow by her
outburst, even though she remembered that night as well. She remembered her
anger, feeling as if she was betraying her mother's memory if she enjoyed any of
the traditions the Kyles had done in past years with anyone else. Helena hadn't
wanted to do any of them with Barbara or Alfred, even though she knew that they
were her family now. It was sometimes a hard thought to get into her head then.
Helena only wanted her mother back for Christmas, knowing that was the one thing
she couldn't have, and that... That was what pissed her off the most. That was
what killed her inside.

Both Helena's saw the desperation on Barbara's face. Both knew that it was a
hard time for her as well, having just been paralyzed as well as having to take
in the teenager of a woman she had thought of as an enemy for a while. Barbara
never had to look out for anyone but herself for most of her life, except for
when she was Batgirl, and even then, Batman and Robin were able to care for them
selves ninety-nine percent of the time. And truth be told, neither Helena or
Barbara knew for sure just WHY Selena Kyle had chosen Barbara as a guardian, but
it was apparent that it was her choice for quite some time. "Helena, one thing I
knew about your mother is that she never stole around Christmas time because she
believed that you gave more than you received at Christmas. She believed that
there was a magic about Christmas that made people better. And she believed that
Christmas was never, EVER dead."

Everyone in the apartment, Spirit, image, real or not, knew that Barbara's words
rang true, and the younger Helena seemed to fall to the floor, her whole body
shaking with her sobs. All the fight was drained from her. Helena, the older
woman, looked over at Past to see he was studying Barbara intently, and there
was something there, something that was mirrored in her own eyes when she
sometimes looked at the redhead. Helena looked back at the scene and saw that
her teen self had her head in Barbara's lap and Barbara was stroking her hair.

"I just-"

"Shh...I know, Helena. The world will miss out on an extraordinary woman." The
redhead looked down into tearful blue eyes. "Would you be willing to start some
new traditions? Not this year, but next year? When we've both healed a little
more?" There was the smallest of nods.

"I miss her so much, Barbara. It feels so much like the pieces will never fit
right again."

"Your mother wants you to have a good life with or without her."

"It's Christmas... You're supposed to be with family, but she's gone." The older
Helena saw the slight hurt on Barbara's face, and tried to reach for her.

"I never meant that you weren't my family- What am I doing...? You can't hear
me," the older woman said softly to the redhead.

"No, she can't, but I think she knew that you were in a rough spot then." Past
seemed thoughtful as he studied both Helena's. "You've had six or seven other
Christmas Eve's with this woman, but I sense that there is one in particular
that is important to you. You know of which I speak, do you not?" Helena looked
up at the Spirit, her eyes looking almost fearful, for yes, she knew exactly of
which Christmas he spoke of.

"I don't want to see that day, Past. Just take me back to my apartment. I
promise to be good until the Ghost of Christmas Present gets here-"

"I'm sorry, but I must show it-"

"I see it, Spirit. What you're about to show me? I see it everyday when I yearn
for her," Helena said, and the Ghost looked surprised as the scene before them
faded, decorations and all. They were in the same apartment, but the furniture
was moved. There was a sound that was almost foreign to Helena, which came from
the couch: Laughter.

"Red looks good on you, Alfred. You look like a stud." On the couch, Helena and
Barbara sat, watching as Alfred Pennyworth tried on his new red scarf and black
gloves. A perfect fit, and everyone in the room had to agree that twenty-one
year old Helena was right. He looked nice.

"Thank you, Miss Helena. Now I won't be so cold on my way to the Manor."

"Do you have to go, Alfred? You're family, and it's Christmas Eve."

"I fear I must. If I have to watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' one more time, I'll go
absolutely mad, but you ladies have a wonderful evening, and I will be back
tomorrow afternoon." Helena stood up and hugged the butler.

"Be safe."

"I'm British, I'm always safe, Miss Helena. Good night." The two women watched
him leave, and the twenty one year old reached under the tree, in the far back,
where she put Barbara's present. Then, she sat back on the couch.

"I got you this. I can't believe how busy it's been at the Dark Horse, but I've
put in a bunch of overtime. Anyway, I thought you might like it," Helena said
shyly. The older Helena put a hand over her eyes, embarrassed. She didn't want to
see the scene play out, but she still heard Barbara gasp.

"It's beautiful. I've never owned a locket before."

"Don't get too excited. I couldn't find a picture small enough to put inside it,
so it is empty."

"I'll think of something," Barbara said, "Thank you." Twenty three year old
Helena looked at Barbara and took in her beauty even though the worse was about
to come. It'd been a while since Helena had seen Barbara so happy and she knew
it would be a long time still. She looked at the 'B' on the locket then quickly
looked away as her twenty-one year old image helped the redhead put it on.
"Barbara, there's something I've wanted to tell you for the longest time..."

"I knew there was something going on in that head of yours-"

"Please, I need to say it... Barbara, I love you."

"I love you too, Helena-"

"No, I mean, I love you. A lot... I, I..." Barbara studied the locket, and then
looked at the twenty-one year old, who was expecting the words to come next.

"Helena, this is beautiful, and we'll always, ALWAYS be a family, and we'll
always be a part of each other lives... But Helena, I can't... I can't love you
like that. Like you want me to. Do you understand?" The younger Helena nodded,
slowly leaning forward. She covered her face, then stood up.

"Yeah, I understand."

"Helena? Hey, where are you going?" The younger Helena shrugged.

"I don't know, but when I get back, I don't want to talk about this. Ever."
Barbara nodded, but neither Helena saw it, as the younger Helena walked through
her older shadow to retrieve her coat behind her. The twenty-one year old Helena
shivered, then left, jumping from the balcony and onto the sidewalk below them.
The twenty three year old Helena watched her younger self disappear before
turning to look at Barbara, who slowly took off the locket, put it back in the
box, then gently placed the box on the coffee-table in front of her. She then
stared at the balcony young Helena had jumped from, and the twenty-three year
old looked at Past, who was also lost in thought. It almost looked to Helena as
though he was guilty.

"She never did," Helena said. Past looked down at her, confused.

"What?"

"She kept to it. We never spoke about it, life went back to normal for a while,
and Lord knows what she did with that locket. Then she met HIM. I loved- well,
love- her so much, and I hated him. But it wasn't his fault; Wade had no
control over the situation. It wasn't his fault that Barbara could love him like
that and not me, but that didn't stop me from hating him when they started
dating, and even more when he started hanging around the Clocktower. So you want
to know something, Spirit? When Wade was murdered, I felt at first...
disappointed that I hadn't done it before Harley Quin did. It was a split second
thought, but I knew even under hypnosis, that the thought was my own."

"Why are you telling me this?" Past looked uncomfortable, and Helena felt smug
for making him feel that way when he made her look at her most painful memory.

"Is that what you wanted from me? For me to see my past and see the darkness
that I have in my life?" Helena asked coldly.

"Yes, but I wasn't supposed to get some sort of dark confession from you. I'm
only supposed to show you the key points in your past around Christmas. I am not
who angers you, Helena."

"Just take me back! I want to go back!"

"Fine. My time is up anyway." He took Helena's hand, and as soon as they got
back to Helena's apartment, Helena threw the Ghost's hand away from her. "Look,
you know the story of the Christmas Carol, so you know what I am about to say
next. These are just images of your past, Helena, of things that have been.
They're there. They're over. Choices were made, prices were paid. You can't blame
me for that."

"Then as your Ebenezer Scrooge, you know what I am about to say next: Fuck off!"
Helena shouted.

"He actually says, 'Leave me!'," Past corrected.

" 'Leave me', 'Fuck off'... Either way, just go!"

"Scrooges these days... Gotta love their Spirit... Oooh, I made a funny..." With
that, Edgar, or Spirit or the Ghost of Christmas Past- whichever one preferred-
vanished, leaving Helena once more alone in the darkness of her apartment, where
she continued to torment herself with thoughts of that night two years ago to
the day. She hadn't much time to dwell on it, however, as the clock on her DVD
player read two minutes to two in the morning.

At precisely two o'clock, there in was a soft glow in front of her in the middle
of her living room/bedroom, which got brighter until a figure appeared inside of
it. There was what seemed to be the presence of someone she knew there, which
was comforting, except for when she realized who the presence belonged to. She
was surprised when the glow left, and the newcomer wasn't the person she was
expecting at all. Helena looked at this woman, an Asian woman in her late
twenties. She looked to be no more than four years older than Helena, and she
had a pretty smile. She was warm, and Helena couldn't help but feel comforted by
her. She looked like Sandy, but she knew it wasn't her or her sister. Perhaps
her mother? Helena had met her mother, who was older when she had Sandy and her
sister, so no, that couldn't be it.

"I wasn't expecting for you to be awake. Usually, the Ghost of Christmas Present
wakes Scrooge again." When Helena only looked down at her knees, the Spirit
continued. "I know that the past is hard to swallow again after a long time of
trying to repress and forget it."

"How would you know?" Helena asked, not really expecting a response, and
definitely not the one she got.

"Normally, I'm cast as the role of The Ghost of Christmas Past because I am one
of the younger Ghosts who do this line of afterlife work. There's angels, spirit
guides, and those that act as an outer conscience- You know, the 'angel versus
devil on the shoulder' sort of thing." It seemed a little far fetched to Helena,
but she nodded anyway. "Your mother specifically asked me to play the Ghost of
Christmas Present for you. I didn't ask questions and waited my turn." Another
nod from Helena.

"I got pretty pissed at Past, and he didn't deserve it. Maybe my mother wanted
to save you from my fury because you're nice and all."

"Thank you, and maybe. If you need a moment or two, I can spare it. I am pretty
sure that what I have to sow you won't take long."

"No... Let's get this over with. I am already emotionally exhausted, and I still
have at least six images to see, am I right?" There was a sympathetic look on
the Spirit's face as she nodded. Helena stood up and held out her hand. "Before
we go, can I get your name just in case I get tired of calling you 'Present'?"

The Ghost took Helena's hand and let the scene shift all the while saying, "In
life -and the other three hundred sixty-four days of the year- I am Francine.
'Present' doesn't sound so bad though, even though I am used to being called
'Spirit' or 'Past', like Edgar, who is usually the Ghost of Christmas Future, the
Michael Clark Duncun in a hood of doom." Helena smiled, thinking back on the big
Ghost. "So, here we are, welcome to the Present."

"Wow, I didn't even notice the scene change. I thought we were going to jump."

"That is Edgar's preference, but I am not to keen on heights myself."

"Okay." Helena looked around and saw that she was in Barbara's apartment once
again. This time, there were no decorations at all, no tree, nothing like the
years past. Was Dinah serious when she said she didn't want a tree and all that
if Helena wasn't going to be there to help decorate it? She saw no signs of
gifts, though she remembered hearing Dinah once fretting over what to get her
best friend. Maybe she was the only one Dinah shopped for. Had they all known
already that Helena wasn't going to come, so there was no need to exchange gifts?

Barbara, Gibson, and Dinah were all on the couch, Dinah with Barbara's legs
rested on her lap, and a blanket over the three of them. They were watching
'It's a Wonderful Life', and it looked to be on the last couple of scenes.
Helena watched Dinah and Barbara's blank faces as they looked dutifully at the
screen, but paid little attention to the people moving on it. When it ended,
Barbara touched Dinah's shoulder and the teen smiled, but it all was halfhearted.

"She's not angry with you or anything, Dinah. Surely you know that. It's just
been rough." The blond nodded, but she didn't seem to believe her words. Dinah
looked over at Gibson and studied him as Barbara took the blanket off of her and
shifted into her wheelchair. No one made a move to help her, as they knew she
wouldn't accept that help. "I'm going to turn in. Don't stay up too late or
Santa won't come."

"Please," Dinah said with an unlady-like snort, "I stopped believing in Santa
when I was nine." The two shared a smile as Gibson looked over at Barbara.

"You're gonna be warm enough on the couch? Will you need another blanket?"

"No, I will be fine, thanks." When Barbara left, the young man looked at Dinah.
"Why so young?" he asked, wondering about the blonde's comment.

"Oh, it's stupid. I mean, I played along with my foster parents until I was
thirteen, but deep down, I'd known the truth since I was nine somehow."

"Why, though? I'm sensing with my bloodhound senses that the daughter of the
late Black Canary isn't telling me everything."

"Must you bring her up?"

"Sorry." Dinah sighed.

" 'S'fine..." she mumbled. "I told you about the dream that brought me here,
right?" Gibson nodded. "And you never told Helena, right?"

"My loyalty to you is as deep as my unrequited love for Helena; My lips,
therefore, are sealed."

"After I had that dream of Barbara's shooting, and of Selena's murder," At this,
Helena looked surprised. She had a dream about that? It made sense after all.
She'd said when they first met, 'I hoped you two would be together,', but to be
honest, Helena had just thought the girl was on drugs or something. "I asked
Santa for one thing and one thing only for that Christmas. I didn't think it was
a big request. It wasn't even a toy. I figured if he knew when you were sleeping
and if you were bad or good, then he would know if someone was alive or not. I
wanted to know if the redhead was alive or not, and I wanted to know what
happened to the girl after the mother died. If nothing else, I wanted a clue on
how to find them." Dinah paused and laughed harshly. It was a sound Helena had
never heard from the girl before, and she felt it didn't fit her. "I got My
Little Pony instead."

"But you found them," Gibson said, hoping to make things lighter.

"Sure, I found them, but with no help from Santa Clause. I took a chance, bought
a one way bus ticket with the babysitting money and the allowances I got. My
foster parents thought I was saving up for a car, but what did they know? I've
run away before, always carted back by a sheriff friend of theirs who knew me,
who knew I was their little trouble making freak. I'm sure they're thinking good
riddance right now at the thought of me, or maybe they're surprised I actually
left the state this time. Or... Maybe they really just don't care. Well, fuck
them. Fate or God or Luck or Serendipity or SOMETHING let me find them both, and
I've been happier than I have been in over a decade... except Helena hates me."
At this, Helena was so shocked by all of this that she took a step back. She
wasn't sure if it was the hurt she heard, or if it was the way Dinah had worded
everything, but it felt like a slap in the face. This wasn't right. Dinah was
happy, perky no matter what. Had she really been the cause of her look of self
loathing? She looked at her boots, ashamed to be her. If you could make someone
like Dinah depressed, then you really were a shmuck. After all, it wasn't at all
her fault she felt any of this anger and grief. She really was stuck in the
middle of everything, and had even fought for the Clocktower with her
Telekinetic Blasts of Doom (which, Helena had to admit, were pretty cool).

"She doesn't hate you, Dinah," Gibson said, grabbing the remote an putting the
commercial for some after Christmas sale on mute.

"You don't have to say that, Gibson. I'm a touch telepath, remember? I don't
have to touch her to see what she thinks of me. I've come to terms with the fact
that she never really took to me. There were moments here and there where I
thought we might work as a team, like the night she didn't kick my ass for
trying to gut her like a fish, which surprised me, but something about me just
rubs her the wrong way, and this whole idea of me being here was a mistake."

"Don't say that, Dinah. Barbara and Helena love you. You know this." Dinah
glared at him. "They do," he insisted. "Look, I'm not just taking her side
because I am madly in love with her-"

"Not helping your case, Gibson-"

"Okay, but- Lady Shiva," he blurted, "When Helena figured out that she was after
you, she was quicker than quick trying to get to you. Damn it Dinah, listen to
me!" Dinah's head turned to him obediently, and there was a look of evident
surprise on her face. "Helena doesn't hate you, okay? She hates herself. She
hates Harley Quinn. She hates the situation and the fact that doesn't know how
to make it magically disappear. She's all for instant gratification. Kick that
bad guys' ass, problem solved, but we'd kicked Harley's ass, and the problem
still remains. The strain is still in her family- and that involves you too,
might I add, though I shouldn't have to, since you're a smart girl and should
have figured that out on your own- and it all frustrates the hell out of her."
Just when Helena thought she had been thoroughly shocked for the moment, she
stared at Gibson. He had put everything she felt recently into words, and they
actually made sense. The brunette felt as if she'd get down on one knee and ask
him to marry her (knowing he would accept in a New Gotham minute), if only she
wasn't so in love with Barbara.

"You're right. I am sorry for my 'woe is me' rant." Gibson put a hand on her
shoulder.

"No need to apologize. I am your friend, Dinah. That is what friends are for.
Besides, it has been a bad Christmas season for all of us." Helena decided right
then and there that it would end. This will not carry on into the new year. She
wanted 2003 to be better. For everyone in her family, which included Gibson as well.

"I know you don't mean to, but actions really do speak louder than words,"
Present said softly, and Helena jumped. She'd forgotten that the Asian woman was
even there. "She's smarter than you give her credit for, and her perkiness is
just another mask she wears." Helena nodded at that, understanding completely.

"I really hurt her. Is it too late? I have to say I'm sorry..."

"It is never too late to apologizes... as long as you're both around. In life,
there were so many things I had to apologize to h- to apologize for. But then, I
died, and it was too late then." Helena caught the slip of the tongue and
wondered how Francine knew Dinah. "Come on, there's more. This has already taken
up more time than I had anticipated." The Spirit started walking in the
direction the redhead had gone a few minutes prior.

"Why are we going in there?" Helena didn't want to walk in on Barbara changing
or anything. She looked back at Dinah, who regarded Gibson and nodded, though
Helena couldn't hear what had been said. Then, Dinah laughed and sounded like
the girl she knew.

Helena followed Francine into the room. She was startled to find that her best
friend and former guardian was fully dressed still, and she was staring out the
window with a familiar box in her hand. Barbara looked as if she dared not open
it, but wanted it near just the same. Helena knew what was in the box. The
redhead's fingers moved delicately over the box as she thought, then she looked
down at it, then back at the clouds and falling snow. She looked as if at any
moment a tear might fall, but Helena knew that Barbara wouldn't cry, even in
privacy of her own room. "She still has the locket," Helena breathed.

"And that surprises you?" Present asked.

"She said should couldn't love me romantically. I thought she got rid of it or
locked it away somewhere, never to look at it again or something." Present
looked out the window as if to think of something; a debate of some sort was
going on in her mind, and that made Helena curious.

"I'm not supposed to do this, but...this is like my apology- I like you. Helena,
take a closer look." Helena stared at Present, and again regarded her
suspiciously, but not in a bad way. She seemed to ask the Spirit 'Who ARE you?'.
"Go on, she can't see or hear you." At that, Barbara opened the box, and slowly
let herself take out the locket. Helena walked closer to the redhead, her heart
pounding the closer she got to her. Barbara's head shot up, and she looked
around, startled.

"Helena? Are you here?" Helena froze, looking up at Present, who also looked
surprised. The Ghost shrugged before Helena could say something along the lines
of, 'I thought she couldn't see or hear me.'

"She's had seven years of practice- to know when I am there, because I am so
silent..." Helena said as if to explain it all away. She saw the look of
disappointment on Barbara's face when she felt and heard no other movements.
Helena then crept closer and stood so close to the redhead that she was
surprised Barbara hadn't tried to reach out and touch her. She gasped when
Barbara opened the locket, for inside was a small black and white photo of
Helena with her eyes tightly shut, her mouth open in a shout, and her and making
a 'rock on' symbol. Her hair was purposely tousled for the shot as she sat on
Barbara's lap. The older of the two had her eyes crossed and her tongue hung out
the side of her mouth. Helena laughed softly, knowing that it was the best of
the four pictures taken of them that day. She remembered when that was taken,
about a month and a half before Dinah had appeared. They were just walking in
the mall, sort of under cover, and Barbara just HAD to go get the photo booth
thing done. Helena thought it was weird behavior of her, and seemed pretty
spontaneous for the redhead, but went along with it. They had a blast. She
realized then as she looked at the locket picture, that it might have been her
plan all along to get the picture for the locket. There was a soft laugh from
Barbara before she closed the locket again and looked back out the window, her
face going almost expressionless. She looked again as if tears were about to fall.

Then she whispered, yet all figures in the room heard her, "I lied to you
Helena, wherever you are. I can... and I do." Helena was sure she had heard the
redhead wrong, but her heart seemed to pound at an even faster rhythm, then she
felt that same ache she felt two years ago when Barbara said she didn't love her
that way, only it felt different somehow. The sadness on her face told the
brunette that there was more to it all. She knew there was. If she could, if she
did, then why didn't they? Why Wade? As if to hear her inner questions, Barbara
said, "I'm so sorry Wade. I tried. I really did." She said nothing else, and she
didn't move after that. The snowflakes outside got bigger, yet they still fell
at the same slow, leisurely rate.

"One more place to go before my time is through."

"Can we..."

"Yes?" asked the Ghost, prompting the young woman to finish her question. Helena sighed.

"Can we go see if the kid's alright?"

"She will be-" but Helena was already gone, and Francine did her best to keep up
with her. She walked quickly into the living room where she heard 'Buzz ate all
my cheese pizza!' They were watching 'Home Alone', and it was at the beginning.
Dinah, who was slumped on the couch, looked as if she was about to fall asleep
at any moment, and Gibson sniffed the air, frowned, then shook is head, as if
he couldn't have smelled the scent he smelled. Then he looked at Dinah to see if
anything was amiss with her.

"I think he smelled me," Helena said with a small giggle. "Okay. Thank you. I am
ready to go."

"Alright." The scene shifted, and Helena saw that they were in the hallway of an
apartment building. Francine pointedly looked around, and Helena, who caught the
hint, did so as well. She saw that she was at the end of a hallway, last door to
the left of an elevator. On the door was the number fourteen. She saw that at
the end of the hallway, on the wall behind her, was a window looking out into
the night. There were no curtains, and Helena saw across from her, a bank and a
Starbucks wannabe cyber cafe'. She'd gone there once or twice. The cocoa was
great, the baristas weren't, and the Internet minutes were expensive. One out of
three wasn't good. Helena turned back to the door, and reached out to touch the
fourteen, but her hand went through. She looked at Present, who nodded at her,
then she went through the door, which was the oddest sensation she ever felt.

It was dark inside, but she heard water running in another room, the bathroom,
she assumed. She shifted her whole body so she could see. The apartment was
slightly bigger than Helena's own studio, and the brunette was a little jealous
at that fact, but then remembered that she didn't pay much for her apartment,
and she hardly spent much time there, anyway. Present waved her arm, and a
ghostly light illuminated the room. When Helena looked over at her, she said,
"She can't see it."

"She?" Present pointed at a newspaper clipping on a computer desk. It had a girl
named Misty Pinal on the picture, with three smaller pictures under hers. She
was crying, eyes tightly shut, and the three other pictures were individual
portrait shots. She knew that this was the girl they had saved earlier that
night. The clipping told of a bombing in an apartment building across town near
the Bludhaven city borders. It shook Dinah pretty badly when it happened about a
month after her arrival, as it was one of those things that as a hero, they
couldn't do anything about. They had no idea it was going to happen, and Dinah
had no dream about it, but they had done their best to save survivors.
Apparently, Misty's mom, dad, and younger brother were all in that apartment
building, and none of them survived. Helena looked at the door to the bathroom
and walked to it. When she heard sobs as well as water, she walked through the
door, Francine following silently behind her.

On the floor in her bathrobe sat the young woman the duo saved that night.
Helena looked at Present. "Why are we here?" she asked, knowing, but still
afraid of the answer. Present refused to look directly at her.

"Let's just say... She's your Tiny Tim, Helena." The brunette was about to say
something to that when Misty's sobs had turned to hiccupped words.

"You shouldn't have saved me. Whoever you are... you shouldn't have saved me. I
wanted him to kill me." It was then that the brunette saw the scars and scabs on
her legs and fresher, barely healed wounds on her arms. "I wanted to die."

"Oh my god," Helena murmured.

"She's had a rough three months," Present said, her voice just as soft. "Her
last three months were about as bad as your last decade." Helena looked at Francine.

"No, it couldn't have been that bad."

"Helena," she said softly, "you lost one person. She lost three. All in one day.
You got Barbara that day, where she's got no one."

"No grandparents-?"

"A grandmother in Bluhaven who doesn't remember her own name half the time, let
alone the fact that she has a granddaughter. Misty'd gone to visit her tonight
and was on her way home from the bus station when she was attacked." Misty
turned suddenly, reaching behind her and into a drawer. Her hand emerged with
what looked like a blade for a boxcutter.

"NO!!" Helena screamed, "Don't, please! Hold on! Hold on-" Startled, Francine
reached out for Helena, who was trying to get to the girl. Helena tried to grab
the blade, but her hand had gone right though. Misty shivered, but her movements
still were as she planned. She made that first cut, and Helena screamed out as
the girl watched the blood make a small trail down her arm until it slid to the
side, dripping onto her knee. "No!"

"Helena! She can't hear you, you know this!" Francine screamed over Helena, her
eyes sad. The young woman looked back at her, and Present was surprised to see
her eyes had gone feral.

"Spirit please, take me back so I can go to her!"

"I can't do that. Future will be there to show you what's yet to come, and you
need to be there to see it." As she said this, Francine made the seen fade away,
and looked into Helena's sad but feral eyes. She watched as a tear fell from
them, and she was startled by it just as much as she was startled by the woman's
desperate cries for Misty to hold on.

"I don't want to know what is yet to come. I don't want to look at headstones of
my family, who lie broken in the snow. I don't want to hear my name spoken like
a disease in the night by people who barely ever knew me. Surely that is all to
come, isn't it? And Misty... Tell me she won't die tonight."

"You know I cannot tell you that even if I did know. That is the job for the
Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. I only know the now, Helena, right this moment.
You must go with Future, and learn from it first, then you can fix the present.
They might answer all your questions- Future can, where I cannot."

"I know what will happen, Present. I must save her before she really hurts
herself. What good am I as a hero if I can't save people?"

"Tonight is designed to help you, Helena, for if the hero can't be saved, then
who really can be?"

"I don't want to see what the future holds for me," Helena said again, wiping her tears.

"Do you fear you'll see the unexpected, or do you fear you'll see the future
exactly as it plays in your mind right now? Either way, you must, Helena, or
this night will be a waste. Trust me. Do you trust me?" At this, Helena knew
that, yes, she did trust this Spirit somehow. "Then trust me when I say that
your lesson will not be learned if you only know part of it. My time now is up."
Francine placed a kiss on Helena's forehead, and Helena watched as she started
to fade away slowly. "Merry Christmas, Helena. I wish you everything your heart
desires..." With that, she was done.

Behind the very spot Franine stood was a shadow that made Helena jump. She felt
cold all over at the sight of this Spirit, and she hated to admit to herself
that she was scared stiff. She felt no presence with this Spirit, and didn't
like that. At least with the first two Ghosts, she felt some sort of presence,
and even a sense of familiarity about both of them. Slowly, Helena stood to her
full height, trying to shake the fear away, and stared at her new visitor. "Of
course," she said, hating the fact that her voice actually trembled, "Why
couldn't there ever be a 'Christmas Carol' without some hooded bastard?" There
was a careful shrug, but the figure's head was down and the hands were in the
sleeves. Obviously, the new Spirit didn't want Helena to see who they were.
Which was just as well; she wasn't up for the sight of some badly burned guy or
a skeleton with flesh, rotten with a strong odor of death still attached to it.
The figure nodded behind them and the scene changed to a cemetery. "Classic. A
graveyard. This is where I see my own grave-" A careful shake of the head, and
then the head nodded in the the direction in front of them, and Helena looked ahead of her.

There in front of them was a woman that she recognized, but, at the same time,
didn't. She had long curly blond hair, green eyes, and she was tall. She wore a
costume, though, which was black and blue spandex with an 'N' on her blue cape
and black chest. On the slope of the 'N' was a thunderbolt, and a cloud
surrounded the 'N', as if it were a rainbow. Her green eyes were sad, lost. In
her hand was a dark blue mask, and she swung it around carelessly with her index
finger in the right eye of the mask. She didn't cry. That was something Helena
had expected from the graveyard scene, lots of sobbing, but she just stared at
the headstone in front of her and sighed heavily. Helena looked at the headstone
and saw what she expected to see. Dinah Lance, 1986-2009. The fact that she
died at Helena's current age was not lost on the brunette.

"Well," the fallen superhero said, "that's it. We've had no choice now but to
move Underground. No more Superfriends, which is just as well because we're all
crap. We've had a combined ten years of training, the four of us have, and
there's no effin' way to find Huntress. She's been gone for years, I know, but
Barbara would have wanted us to keep looking for her. I went to visit her-
Barbara. She'll be there for another Christmas, at least. She's just not coming
around. She doesn't know me anymore, and seems to have forgotten all about
everything else. Doesn't help that she's THERE. Alfred died last month. Just
when I thought he COULDN'T die, he went to bed one night and just didn't wake
up. Good for him, I say. Maybe you were there for him. He wanted to be taken
back to England, where his wife was buried. Seriously, I didn't know he ever had
a wife, but it was there in his will.

"Gibson is fine. He's been a little odd the last few times I've spoken to him.
He seems convinced that there is no reason for me to speak to him now that we no
longer have you or Helena or Barbara in common. Now he just watches his back so
that they don't know that he's in line with the superheroes and get in trouble.
They've destroyed everything. Those who haven't run Underground or out of the
city just take it. Matt 'n' I try to fight the small fights, but more and more
we've gotten our asses beat. Gina's still in the hospital after the last one,
and doctor's are starting to wonder about domestic abuse or something, not to
mention the 'weird blood' she's got. We can't risk anymore.

"I feel I have failed you. I wanted to be what you and Huntress and Barbara all
were once. But as soon as you died and Barbara lost it, I've done nothing to
help this city. Gina, Matt and me... That is all that's left. I can't lose
anymore. This whole fucking city is lost. Maybe there is no saving this city.
Maybe Batman knew it all along, but just couldn't get out until he did. Maybe
you knew it, too. But you still fought, didn't you? There was a beauty in the
city, and maybe there still is, but I am horribly outnumbered. Reece... Well, he
won't talk to me. I'm connected to you, after all. He thinks I could have
stopped you from killing Al Hawk, but I could never stop you from doing anything
if you really wanted it. But he deserved it this time. Huntress was there the
first time after he killed your mother, but when he sent one of his goonies to
attack us, you couldn't hold back. I understood. Things weren't supposed to be
this way, Dinah. We were supposed to have more than two months together, even
though I've loved you forever. We were supposed grow old together and like
Alfred, die in our sleep." Helena looked at at the young woman, the person she
referred to now and then as 'Kid's Little Blonde Friend' for lack of knowing or
caring to remember her name. She was silent after that. Both Helena and the
blonde watched the gravesite, and then the fallen hero moved behind her and held
fresh flowers. She replaced the old flowers with the new ones and moved the snow
away from the grave site. "I'll love you forever," she whispered, then put her
mask back on.

She looked around her and then a strong wind came, and it made her float away.
'So that was her power,' Helena thought. 'Wind.' She'd felt the first time she
met Dinah's friend that there was something a little off with the girl, but she
was good for Dinah's health, so she said nothing. She never would have guessed
that she was a metahuman, though. Then a thought occurred to her. "Barbara's not
here, is she?" At the head shake, Helena felt relief until she asked slowly,
"What about Misty?" The figure turned away from her, shoulders slumped, and
walked to the other side of the cemetery. Helena didn't want to see it, but
forced herself to look at the four gravesites that looked untouched. Helena
heard soft crunching of snow and looked around. "Someone's here," she said, but
Future made no movements to indicate that Helena was heard. Looking at Misty's
tombstone, which only had a name and a year, she saw Christmas 2002. "You didn't
hold on," she said, feeling hot tears come to her eyes as she felt anger inside
her. "You stupid girl! I said 'Hold on', not that you could hear me..." There
was silence in the cemetery, and after a moment, the shadow made a movement with
their elbow and head that said 'come along'. The scene shifted, and Helena
followed Future into a new scene.

Immediately, she felt her blood boil. Barbara was standing- Standing? Had she
over the years found a way to make her spinal machine work without hurting her?
It wasn't the fact that she was standing that made her angry, it was who she was
standing next to. Harley Quinn stood with Barbara playing Patty Cake. The
redhead
had her hair on two long pigtails, looking almost like an overgrown Pippi
Longstocking. She giggled-giggled like a school girl, and Harley Quinn smiled.
It was a genuine smile, and that worried Helena. She felt a little helpless
because Barbara looked, well... HAPPY. But why with her? Why with Wade? 'Why not
with me?' The one question that burned her inside the most, she asked aloud.
"Spirit, what happened? How did she get here?" When she looked at the Phantom,
she saw a hand- a slender, olive colored hand- move under the hood and she heard
a soft sniffle. "You- Who are you? You've got a human hand. Not at all like the
Ghost described in Dickens' book." The Figure didn't move except to put the hand
back in the sleeve of the robe. Future's silence angered Helena now, and made
one quick movement; the shove backwards startled the figure. The hood came down
and Helena gasped and took a couple of steps backwards. Standing now before her
was an exact replica of her younger self, the long haired girl who had just lost
her mother. Long brunette braid, trusting blue eyes, and a wide expression
completed the picture as the figure caught her balance. "This is a joke to
you?!" Helena asked, enraged now. Finally, the figure spoke.

"I wish it was."

"Tell me who you are!" The words that came next were not ones she wanted to hear.

"I'm you, Helena-"

"Cut the crap!" Helena snapped, her eyes going feral. The figure sighed, not at
all impressed. She also seemed to get annoyed as Helena asked again, "Who are
you? I won't ask you again!"

"I told you, 'I'm you'. Not to get mellow dramatic, but I'm the part of you that
died." Both Helena's stood staring at each other, but the currant twenty three
year old broke contact first, knowing deep down that part of her was indeed
missing, whether it took form now before her or not.

"Which part of me are you, then? The part that believes in Santa Clause and
peace, love, and joy for everyone?" she asked, her words and tone snarky.

"To be blunt, yes," her figure replied, her words crisp. "I trusted people. I
loved, but then Mom died and for a long time, I struggled just to hold on.
Things got better for you and Barbara as time went on, but still... I had little
to hold on to. You- the part of you that is more Huntress than anything- didn't
seem to care one way or the other and left me to die until Dr. Harleen Quinzell
came into our lives. I thought she could help. I- I really did." A tear ran down
her cheek, and Helena felt the faint wetness on her own cheek, but when she went
to rub it away, nothing was there. "When she betrayed us, well, I slipped away
completely. I couldn't hold on any longer, so technically, I'm dead."

"If you died, and we both miss Mom so much, why didn't you go to her?"

"I didn't want to believe that you would let me go so easily. I'd hoped you
would take me back, me being naive and all. Going to Mom- as much as I love and
miss her- would have been admitting defeat, and even I don't do that." When
Helena said nothing to that, her shadow continued, "You wanna know what
happened
Helena?" The twenty-three year old nodded, although she had a feeling she
already knew. "Alright, this is what happened. I couldn't be your hopeful shadow
forever, and so I faded away this night, since there had been no intervention. I
couldn't return. Yes, Misty killed herself. I believe that was what got the ball
rolling. You were so angry that you saved her and she ended up killing herself,
so what was the point to all of it? I'm surprised you recognized her at all,
since the would-be victims and criminals all looked the same to you. It shook
you, though, somehow. You knew she shouldn't have died that day. I think you
visit her gravesite but never left any sign you were ever there. The shadow you
felt was your future self visiting Misty and Dinah. About a year later, February
of 2004, you got tired of dancing around some invisible burning bush with
Barbara and had a fight. Really, it was something stupid to have a fight about,
and frankly, petty arguments are beneath you. You left. Barbara gave you a week
to cool off, as usually you'd stalk off and come back for sweeps, but you never
did. She looked for you, but not even the Delphi knew where you'd run off to,
which means you know Barbara well enough to know how she'd find you and found a
way around it. Her search for you became an obsession after a while, but it was
then just Barbara, Dinah and Alfred for almost two years until they found out
that Dinah's best friend Gabby- who Dinah's been in love with for about a month
in your currant time- is a metahuman with the ability to create and manipulate
wind. She trained, then became Nimbus. Slowly, a couple of other people came
with their abilities, and there was a new generation of superheroes in the
Clocktower... but none of them were enough to fight off what came next for them.

"It was like a new breed of evil popped up from Hell to terrorize them. They did
anything and everything under the moon, yet they couldn't be stopped. Working
together, the new superheroes did what they could to ward them off for a little
while, but they just kept coming. These... people were the worst because they
weren't after fame or money or revenge. No. They just wanted to kill. So they
did. Everything that could be done was done, but still they were outnumbered.
Barbara went to find you, went to see everyone you ever knew to see if you may
have said something to give away where you might have gone. Not only did they
need you, Barbara missed you like crazy. She even spoke to Lady Shiva-Sandy. She
may have been an enemy of Batgirl's, but she was still your best friend. She
knew that there was something going on in New Gotham that shouldn't have been,
and was cooperative. Finally and reluctantly, she went to Harley Quin. She was
your therapist for almost three months, so if anyone were to have known
anything, it would have been her. Jesse Reece went with her.

"Something happened, I am not completely sure, but somehow she got a hold of
Barbara, making her think she was young in the mind. Harley was the only one she
recognized somehow, and she fought anyone who took her away form Harley. They
eventually left her in the cell with Harley, and she has been, well, not fine,
but she caused no more troubles. When Barbara hadn't come back that night, the
Clocktower got attacked, and Dinah, who was the only one there who knew anything
about the Delphi, died in that fight. The rest of the team was forced out, and
they hid out in an old apartment building a little bit always from No Man's
Land... It's weird," Helena's shadow said slowly, "It's almost like Harley is
happy taking care of Barbara." Both women watched as the shadows settled down
for the night.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know any Christmas stories?"

"Well, not all the way through."

"Will you make one up for me?"

"I'll try, but you've got to go to sleep right afterwards, alright?" When
Barbara nodded, she smiled. "That's my good girl. Let's see... T'was the night
before Christmas, and all through New Gotham, ugly men started killing, and no
one could stop 'em-"

"Please!" Helena cried, not wanting to hear anymore of Harley Quinn's sick
bedtime story. Who knew how many other such stories Harley Quinn told this woman
in her state. "This is not a future I want for my family. I was shown these
images so that I can change. Tell me how I might do that."

"We've got to work together, Helena. I've got to let you fight and protect, and
you've got to let me love and trust. There's a time and place for all of it."

"I understand that now. Without you, I'm not completely living in this world. I
get that now." Helena's shadow put a hand on her cheek and shook her head slowly
as if she was misunderstood.

"Without you, we can't protect them. Without me, we can't love them. Together we
are one, Helena." Both figures nodded in understanding as this realization
passed between them. "I know you try to hide it, but I really do like the kid.
She's gonna be great, I can feel it. And..." Helena saw more tears fall, and
again felt the phantom streaks. "And I really do love Barbara. With all my
heart." Helena's eyes filled with tears as well, real tears that were hers as
well as the shadow's.

"Me too. I do too," she whispered. Not knowing what else to do, and feeling
suddenly very hollow, she reached out for her figure, and in an embrace, the two
united, having finally come to an agreement after seven and a half long years.
She closed her eyes and smiled a soft smile as her shadow, who she realized was
no shadow at all, but her missing self, sighed, and the voice of Harley Quinn faded.

When she opened her eyes, there was no one but herself in the apartment, yet she
still felt the presence. It was there in side of her where it belonged. She
realized that where her arms had embraced the presence before was now her
pillow. Her smile grew until something inside of her, the part that was no
longer missing, screamed out one name, which caused her to also shout it out.
"Misty!" With that, she shot from her bed and threw on her coat, glad that she
had 'slept' in her clothes. She didn't care for once about her bed head; she ran
down the stairs and to the bar. Looking up, she saw the mistletoe decoration
above her. "What do you think, Future?" She asked, "Should we?" She grinned,
then looked around. When she saw that no one could see her through the glass
windows, she let her body turn feral just long enough to leap into the air and
snatch the mistletoe from the string hanging from the ceiling. Which was just as
well. Helena herself had to put the damn thing up and got both men and women
trying to catch her under it all fourteen days in December she was forced to
work. She'd have been honored to rip it down and destroy it... later. She had
another plan for it in the mean time. Shoving the mistletoe in her jacket
pocket, and surprised she hadn't messed up the decoration completely, she felt
her pockets for her wallet and keys, then ran out into the snowy streets.

Snow in New Gotham (or anywhere in New York for that matter) never seemed to
stay fresh and pure for very long, as people walk by at constant times of the
day and night, making tracks, letting their dogs turn it yellow, the cars mixing
in the mud with their tires as they attempt to drive in it. None of that
bothered Helena. She looked at the various buildings, wondering which one of
them would be crazy enough to be open in this weather on Christmas day.

Helena ran, at first on the sidewalks, then on the rooftops, where the snow was
more pure and untouched. Beautiful. If she didn't find beauty in Barbara's eyes,
then it was surely there on the silent buildings. She searched for the crappy
cyber cafe' and the bank. She knew that was what she was looking for. Misty
lived not far from the Clocktower, less than a mile. When she saw the building
she was looking for, she turned around and saw the apartment building and
sighed. Somehow she thought she was imagining most of what she saw within the
images, places, people... but it was real, and she had to stop this one from
coming true. She knew what would happen to a Helena without her other self
reacting to this loss, but how would she as her whole react to it? She didn't
want to know, and she ran inside. She took the elevator, mainly because she knew
were to go from there. Last door on the right, number fourteen. She looked
briefly at the door and touched the number. Unlike the night before, her hand
was solid, and her index finger traced the one, then the four before her whole
hand balled into a fist and she started to pound on the door. She was sure she
sounded like a claustrophobic trapped in a locked closet, and a small image of
Dinah entered her head then, picturing how it must have been for her in the Redmond's.

"MISTY!!" she screamed, continuing to pound on the door. Exactly twenty-four
seconds later (Helena had counted, telling herself that if Misty didn't answer
after a full minute, she was breaking the door), the door opened and the young
woman's eyes widened.

"I just do. If I told you anything past that, you would have me
committed, and
trust me when I say that half of Arkham Asylum hates me... The other half are
doctors." Misty stayed quiet, and Helena said, "I'm sorry about your family, and
it's harder around this time of year, but you know... Something will give in if
you don't first." There was a look of slight recognition in Misty's eyes. Helena
spoke the idea she had been thinking since she woke up that morning, after she'd
taken the mistletoe from the bar. "Come with me- Spend the day with me and my
family. Today is not a day to be alone." Misty hesitated, as if it all was too
good to be true.

"I-I don't... know you," she said, her voice so small that Helena wouldn't have
been able to hear it had she been any other person.

"My name's Helena," she said. She took one of her hands off of Misty's shoulder
long enough to extend for the Native American woman to shake. Misty stared at
it, then slowly shook it, seeming unsure of what else to do with her. Helena
knew she looked and sounded crazy, but maybe all of this will throw her off
guard enough to say 'yes'. She was actually surprised by how patient she was
with Misty. Maybe that was the work of her other part. "I really think you will
have fun in spite of yourself. My sister will be there, and you're between our
ages. Her friend might come over for a little while. Who else will be there..."
She let go of Misty completely and took a step back, giving the woman her space.
"Gibson, my friend from high school, lost his power a couple of nights ago, so
he's staying with us for a bit, and my cop friend Reece might drop by. There's
also Barbara, and Alfred- Alfred... He'll be cooking, and you haven't lived
until you've had his cranberry sauce, I'm telling you." When Misty didn't
respond, Helena saw the look on her face. "Sorry, wrong figure of speech." Misty
shook her head.

"That's easy. Say 'Yes Helena, I'd love to come to your get together. I'll even
bring my (insert title to Christmas movie here). I just hope I am not
intruding,' To which I will say, 'No not at all! The more the merrier!' and then
we get going. Simple."

"But-"

"Look at it this way: Would you rather take a chance with a stranger to see if
maybe- Mmm, maybe you could find happiness in the midst of these new people, or
would you rather stay at home, do what we both know you had planned, and never
know for sure? Chances are, the worst I could do to you, you've already got
planned for yourself if you stayed home, so come with me. There's more out
there. There really is." Helena's last words were whispered and women's eyes
shimmered.

"I don't know how you know all that, but you do have a point." Helena wiped her
eyes before any tears could fall. 'No more crying,' she ordered herself, 'It's
Christmas day. A fresh start for all of us.'

"I have a friend- Barbara- who can patch that up in a way that will make you
forget it is even there," Helena said, nodding at the younger woman's bandaged
wrist, which rested on her stomach. She pulled her robe sleeve down, and Helena
shrugged out of her jacket and rolled up her sweater's sleeve, showing Misty her
own ugly scar, a white line against her tanned skin. "I should know. I uh... I
did this seven years ago." Misty was quiet for a long time, looking at the scar,
and Helena held it out for her to study for as long as she needed to. Then,
Misty nodded.

"Will you wait here while I go get dressed?" Her question, which Helena hoped
was more of a request than anything else, was soft and unsure.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said reassuringly as she pulled her sleeve down
and put her coat back on. Misty nodded again, then awkwardly stepped backwards
into her apartment and closed the door. Helena sighed loudly with relief. For a
moment there, she was sure Misty was about to say no, and then she would have to
take drastic measures, like... Well, she didn't know, call the police, break
down the door and watch her like a hawk, she supposed. She was willing to GO
THERE, where ever that may or may not have been. She was determined, she knew
that much. Misty no matter what, was NOT dying that day or any other in the near
future as long as Helena was around.

Helena paced the length of the floor between apartments twelve, thirteen, and
fourteen as she thought about her game plan for the day. She had a lot to do
that day and, she realized, not a whole lot of time to do it in if she wanted to
spend as much of it as possible in harmony with her family. She was surprised by
how quickly Misty had gotten dressed when she turned to see her closing and
locking the door behind her on her seventh or eighth time to the elevator. Or
maybe she was too lost in thought to feel much of the wait time go by. When
their eyes met, Helena smiled warmly at Misty in a way that the brunette hoped
was reassuring. "Ready?" Misty nodded and let a white plastic bag hang from her
good wrist. "What movies did you bring?"

" 'White Christmas', 'Home Alone', 'Home Alone Two: Lost in New York', and 'How
the Grinch Stole Christmas'," Misty replied, and Helena smiled at the choices.

"Dinah saw 'Home Alone' last night, so she might want to see the second one
today. I haven't seen 'White Christmas' in ages, and I am pretty sure 'Mr.
Grinch' has always been my favorite Christmas song on the radio." There was a
look of some sort of emotion that Helena didn't know Misty well enough to trace
on her, but she was almost certain that it was suspicion. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Misty said a little too quickly, and looked down at the snow in front
of her as they left the apartment building and walked onto the sidewalk.
Together the two walked about a block in silence. "Wait, you're PRETTY sure 'Mr.
Grinch' was your favorite?" Misty asked, giving Helena a genuine smile. Helena
smiled and added a wink in return.

"What can I say, I could never just pick a favorite anything, and I am still the
same now, but if I had to hear any of those songs twice in a row, it would be
that one. What about you?"

"Oh- uh, that Bing Crosby and David Bowie version of 'Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth'."

"That's a good song, too," Helena agreed, then let out a large refreshing sigh.
"So, our first stop is the grocery store. I've got to pick up eggnog and holiday
candy for the family. If there's anything you want, now is the time to tell me."

"No, nothing," Misty said again.

"What's your favorite Christmas candy?"

"Chocolate candy canes," Misty said without hesitation. Helena nodded, then
continued her short shopping list.

"I'll get you some of those, then. I think Gibson likes those things, too. I
know for a fact that Dinah likes those chocolate oranges that you smack on
something and they split like orange wedges?" She'd ended her sentence in a
question, as if to ask Misty if she knew what they were." Misty nodded, knowing
what she was talking about but honestly have no more of a clue of what tey were
called than Helena had. " Anyway, I'll get her a couple of boxes, plus one or
two for her little blonde friend if she comes over. Barbara's getting peanut
M&M's, and some other such candies for Reece and Alfred, as I haven't a clue if
Reece is coming over or what they like." Helena paused and looked over at Misty,
who only kept nodding, listening to what she had to say. She seemed interested
in what was being said, but not knowing any of the people she was going on
about, Misty couldn't respond to it. "So talk to me, do you have any Christmas
traditions? I think Barbara was trying to mesh all of ours together somehow this
year, but... Well, it didn't work this time around. Maybe next year."

"When we were kids, we would go see Santa in the mall, then go caroling when we
lived in Nevada. That happened the week before Christmas. Then, as we got older,
and after we moved to New Gotham, my parents let us host a Christmas party where
we would decorate the house, wrap presents, stuff like that. My parents were
really big on Christmas."

"So was my mom. I wonder if it's just an adult thing, but here I am at
twenty-three and I am not half as nutty as she'd get."

"Give it time." Helena let out a laugh that came from deep in the throat, low
and genuine. The trip to the grocery store was quick, as everything (except for
the eggnog) was right at the door with a tag marking everything there fifty
percent off as they got ready for Valentine's Day. Helena sent Misty off on a
mission to get the eggnog, plus anything else she thought might add to the
party, and then grabbed a basket, piling bags of candy into it. Five minutes
later, Misty came looking for her and had not only the eggnog, but also a
Christmas CD with music done on the piano, which cost ten dollars, and a bottle
of apple cider. "Good job. Mission accomplished. The CD will be a nice touch to
the day," Helena commented.

After that, Helena paid for the items, bid the cashier (named Tabitha, she
noted) a Merry Christmas, and the two young women continued their walk. Each
woman carried two bags, Helena holding the bag with the cider and eggnog
together as well as a bag with half of the candy, and Misty with a bag with the
other half of the candy and the CD, plus her own small bag with the movies. As
they got further away from Misty's lonely apartment, and the more questions that
were asked of her regarding Christmas, Helena was glad to see the plastic bag
holding Misty's movies swung a little bit in merriment as the younger of the two
walked along, a new spring in her step. She was actually getting excited by the
thought of meeting new people and not being alone, and she knew how much she
owed the woman next to her. There was a new spring in Helena's step as well.

When Helena and Misty got to the entrance to the apartment complex Barbara lived
in, the half-meta looked up at the balcony and saw no lights from any tree, no
tree at all, as she had the night before when the apartment was just an image.
She felt herself stop, and she tried to hold back her tears at how she'd been
lately. "I'm going to introduce you to the gang and pass out peace offerings,
then I'm going to leave you with Gibson to have a heart to heart with my sister."

"She mad you didn't go home last night and spend Christmas Eve with her?"

"Yeah-" Helena quickly looked at Misty, who had her gaze fixed to the sidewalk
ahead of them. When Helena had stopped walking, she did as well. "How did you know?"

"I guessed," she lied, but it was easily detected.

"Bullshit," Helena said, but she didn't sound mad, just surprised. She stepped
in front of Misty and asked again, "How did you know?" The younger girl looked
at Helena after a moment, and sighed softly, and the twenty-three year old knew
that she was scared to tell her.

"Two things, really," she started slowly, "It was too much of a coincidence to
me that I got saved by a masked hero, and then was awakened the very next
morning by a woman with the same hair color, height, body build, and voice. I
uh..." The Native American woman hesitated.

"What?"

"Believe me or not, I had a weird ass dream about you- nothing kinky or anything."

"Why would I believe it was kinky?"

"People look at you weird if you tell them that they were in your dream the
night before and automatically think it was a sex dream."

"Like I said, it was weird- and it scared me a little bit, really. I was
standing next to you in my bathroom, watching... this," Misty raised her
bandaged wrist to Helena, "It was like I wasn't even me, but some spirit.
Usually when my people dream of spirits, they take place as animals or some form
of nature, but this was... There's no way to describe it, Helena. We were both
ghosts, and there were two of me. One watching, and one cutting. When I made
that first cut, you went wild, and your eyes got the way there were last night
behind your mask when you handled that guy. You were screaming at me, the one
that cut, probably for me to stop, and maybe to hold on. When you said that this
morning it was like a flashback to the dream. The me that was standing by you
was startled. I guess I saw you almost as someone without much feeling for
others because of... Well someone else, I think, and I tried to hold you back
from trying to stop the other me, the one that cut. You turned to me and said
something like 'Take me back so I can go to her', and then there was nothing. I
woke up to the sound of you trying to kill my door. I was shocked to see it was
you, and at first I thought I was still dreaming until you grabbed me." Helena
was quiet for a long moment, and felt a chill up her spine that had noting to do
with the snow all around them. If Misty hadn't seen the steam move from Helena's
slightly opened mouth, she would have sworn she was talking to a statue.

"Look," Helena said after a long moment, "we've had some hard times lately. I
trusted the wrong person with this secret. It took everything not to kill this
person when she betrayed me and hurt my family. Next time, I will not hold
back." Her tone was low, and she stared Misty in the eye, and the younger woman
stared right back.

"Well," Misty said slowly after a minute more of this staring contest, "if I
wasn't already suicidal, I'd think you were threatening me." At this, Helena
laughed to relieve a little bit of the tension between them, even though the
subject matters- both the suicide and the matter of her secret- were not funny
at that moment. "Seriously, I have no one to tell, other than the people I meet
today, and I'll bet they already know, right?" Helena nodded. She had a point.
She considered this for a moment.

"Pretend you don't know, okay? If anyone were to get in trouble for your
knowing, it would be me, but it's an issue for another day. I want today to be a
good day- a good Christmas for all of us, alright?" Misty nodded, and Helena
went on as an afterthought, "However, if Barbara- who is one smart cookie- were
to find out, I will not lie to her." Another nod from the Native American. "So,
like I said, 'pretend you don't know anything', make nice, be yourself. Some
things to give you extra brownie points: Reece- if he even shows up- and Barbara
love firm handshakes. Your grip doesn't have to be bone crushing, but lock your
wrists for sure and keep the brief eye contact as you say your 'how do you do's
or whatever. Dinah and Gibson are pretty easy to talk to. Even if they have no
clue what you're talking about, they'll nod and try to understand. Dinah's into
musicals and movie soundtracks at the moment, so if you've got any 'West Side
Story' trivia up there in that brain of yours, now is the time to dust it off
and use it. Just keep the singing to a minimum." She winked at Misty, who
grinned back. "Let's see, Alfred is a friend of ours who spent a majority of his
life as a butler, and I guess old habits die hard. Take whatever he offers you
with a smile, say thanks, all that. Gabby might stop by. She's been Dinah's best
friend almost as soon as Dinah started school at New Gotham High, and between
you and me, they're the only ones in New Gotham who don't know that they're more
than friends."

"Oh," Misty said, surprised. Helena had an eyebrow raised as she looked at her.

"That bother you?" The younger woman gave an unlady-like snort that made Helena laugh.

"Please, my brother was gay. I think he was the only one who didn't know it."

"Oh," This time Helena was surprised.

"So... firm handshake with Reece and..."

"Barbara,"

"Right. Talk about 'Sunset Boulevard' with Dinah and her best friend. Take
anything from Alfred, talk anything with Gibson... Missing anything?"

"Be yourself and have a good time," Helena reminded her, surprised that Misty's
memory was as good as it was.

"Right." The two women walked into the apartment building that Dinah and Barbara
lived in, and Helena knocked on the door, knowing that she could have just
walked right in. She didn't want to surprise anybody with Misty's presence.
Dinah opened the door, looking excited and eager until she saw who it was.
Helena put the bags down and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. The blonde
girl stiffened and didn't respond. Helena hid her slight pang of hurt, knowing
that she deserved the reaction, or lack thereof.

"Merry Christmas, Dinah." Dinah stared at Helena for a moment in silence, then
her eyes slid over to Misty. Her light, light brown eyebrows rose when she
recognized her, then she looked at the brunette for an explanation. "Later,"
Helena said. At this, Dinah turned from them, leaving the door open behind her,
and Helena picked up the bags and motioned for Misty to follow her inside. "That
went well," she said quietly, and was surprised that she felt tears threatening
to fall. 'Please, not now, Future,' she thought to her reunited self. 'She'll
come around if we grovel enough,' she promised herself.

"Guess who's here," Dinah said, Helena assumed, to Gibson.

"Santa?" Helena walked into the living room, where Gibson still had his clothes
from the night before on, and opened the box of chocolate candy canes, giving
one to both Gibson and Misty.

"No, but I come baring gifts all the same," she said, digging in the bag some
more, to find nothing but Kisses and what Helena thought of as 'Reece's
Reece's', and looked at Misty. "This is my new friend Misty Pinal. Misty, this
is my sister Dinah and my friend Gibson." Misty had already figured as much, but
smiled shyly. "Give me that other bag- no, the one from the store," Helena said
when Misty absently offered the movie bag. "Here, Kid. I know you like these,
and I got a couple for Gabby if she comes by today," she added. Dinah accepted
the chocolate, but set it in front of her and stared at it, and nowhere else.
She said nothing. 'Yup,' Helena thought, 'Lots and lots of groveling, and I'll
bet she'll love every minute of it.'

Slowly, Misty opened her candy cane, almost as if she was afraid of making
sudden movements that would get her noticed. She watched as Gibson broke his
into four or five pieces and ate the candy cane piece by piece.

"Thanks Helena," he said around the curved piece in his mouth.

"Thank Misty. She's the one who suggested them. They're her favorite candy."

"Be still my heart Then my humble thanks goes to you." Misty smiled, deciding
she liked Gibson. If she was honest with herself, he was cute in that geeky sort
of way, which was exactly the type of guy she crushed on in school. Barbara and
Alfred emerged from the kitchen to see what was going on, and both pairs of eyes
shifted from one newcomer to the other, mostly landing on Misty. The Native
American woman seemed only slightly taken aback by the wheelchair, but she
recovered quickly and extended her hand to Barbara, which pleased Helena.

"Misty Pinal," she said as the redhead took her hand. Helena saw that it was a
good shake, which made her smile. More and more she was liking the younger
woman, and she was glad that she was taking her advice to heart.

"Likewise," Barbara said, and the brunette knew she actually meant it. Misty had
done it. She'd made a good impression on Barbara, which meant that if she knew
that Misty knew about their secret, she wouldn't be too opposed to it. The
redhead gestured behind her where the butler stood and added, "This is Alfred Pennyworth."

"I hope so, if the Tofurkey doesn't kill 'im first." Helena replied with a grin.
Now that introductions were out of the way, Helena walked over to her friend and
gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Misty saw the slight look of surprise,
and a look passed between Barbara and Dinah. Misty could only guess that Helena
wasn't usually this touchy-feely. Helena looked into the two bags of candy and
gave Alfred the Kisses and Barbara the M&M's. "Green like your eyes and red like
your hair. The perfect gift for you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She lowered her voice and looked almost
mischievous. "Now if
you excuse me, I've got to go have a heart to heart with my sis. Be back soon,"
she promised. Misty and Barbara exchanged a quick look, then a shrug. Helena
crossed the room and asked, "Can I speak to you alone?" Dinah shrugged, leaving
the unopened chocolate and Gibson on the couch as she stood up. The two went
into Dinah's room and shut the door. Dinah sat on her bed, and slowly, Helena
sat next to her. Dinah made no movement that acknowledged her. Helena sighed
and put a hand softly on Dinah's shoulder. "It's been rough, these last couple
of months, hasn't it? We've seen a lot of people come and go from our lives.
Mostly go. We- You me, Barbara and Alfred- We've been constant. I've come to
expect that. I am sorry I haven't been the best mentor and person to be around,
Dinah. Throughout everything, I didn't realize I was taking any of my anger out
on you, hurting you and not caring that I was. I do care. You didn't deserve
that treatment, and I don't at all hate you." There was silence, and Helena was
sure Dinah was about to give her the silent treatment for the rest of the
holiday, but she finally looked at her, unsure.

"Did you mean it, Helena?" This stumped the brunette.

"Mean what, exactly?"

"When you introduced me to Misty as your sister, did you mean it?"

"Yes, of course. Ask her, I've called you my sister at least twice."

"I've always wanted a sister. When I used to dream about you in Missouri, I'd
wish you were my sister, because I knew somehow you would make me forget the
things I went through with the Redmonds."

"I am," Helena said, her tone- or perhaps her reunited half's tone- leaving no
room for doubt for either woman. Dinah's smile lit the room better than any
Christmas lights. "Do I get a real hug this time?" Helena ventured to ask. She
knew only then would she know she was truly forgiven. Dinah nodded, and turned
her whole body so that she was facing the brunette, and the sisters embraced.
"We'll all be okay," Helena whispered to her.

"And Misty?"

"Yes," she responded, though she wasn't quite sure what the blonde was really asking.

"Why is she here? She's nice, but you don't know her," Dinah said.

"True, but I've learned that beating someone up in the course of a minute or so-
as fun as it is- doesn't always save a person. You saw her last night, Dinah.
She stared at the gun as if she wanted it to kill her. That image didn't sit
well with me." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth, either, and
both women knew it.

"Does she know, then?"

"She guessed," Helena replied, and Dinah looked at the door as if to look
through it to see the woman in question.

"I trust your judgment." Helena was surprised by that, and was even more
surprised by how that simple sentence made her feel after everything that
happened three weeks ago.

"Are we cool?"

"Yeah. Let's go rejoin the group before they send a search party. Besides,
Gabby's supposed to be here soon."

"Hey, speaking of, as your sister, can I give you some advice?"

"Sure."

"If you've got feelings for her, tell her how you feel before it's too late. You
know our lives, especially in our line of work. You may not get too many chances
to, not to get morbid on you." Dinah looked at Helena with a look of surprise.
Lots of surprises this holiday. Though everyone around them knew that they were
mad for each other besides themselves, Helena shrugged playfully. "Call it a
hunch," she added. Dinah smiled fondly as she thought of her best friend and
love interest. From the looks of it, she knew as well that many knew of her
crush on Gabby, but she still tried to work up the courage to tell her. That was
second on her Christmas wish list, the first being a Christmas with Helena. So
far, so good. Perhaps she should try her luck now, while it was getting good.
She nodded at her sister.

"Call it a hunch, Hel, but take your own advice. She feels the same, trust me."

"I do trust you, and I will." With that, Dinah opened her bedroom door and
rejoined the group as she said. Helena slowly got off of the bed and followed
the blonde. She went back to the redhead's side and said, "Your turn. We need to
talk." Barbara only nodded, and this time Helena led the way to Barbara's
bedroom. Once there, neither one of the women spoke up until Barbara could no
longer stand the silence.

"Misty is a fine young woman, and I know you've got a good reason for bringing
her here. That bandaged wrist of hers might be part of it and I'll say no more
on the subject unless you want to bring it up. I am just glad that you're happy
today. That was my Christmas wish for you. I hope it lasts."

"I hope it does, too." Helena let her fingers run over the mistletoe decoration
in her jacket pocket, then slowly approached Barbara. "You know," she said
conversationally as she stood, then knelt next to Barbara, "there is one
Christmas tradition that I do enjoy," Helena felt herself getting nervous, and
she wanted to back down, but Future screamed at her to at least try, "And I know
it won't mean anything..." she took the mistletoe out and held it over their
heads and tried to look charming. "But it IS tradition."

"You're wrong," Barbara said as Helena leaned in. This threw Helena off a little
bit and froze for a second before she felt Barbara's hand on her cheek. Their
lips met, and it was everything Helena had ever dreamed of and more, as clichéd
as she knew it was. When they parted, the redhead continued, "It means
everything." There was another kiss, then Barbara smiled softly. She seemed
thoughtful, then she reached out to her bedside table and took out the box with
the locket in it. "I still have it."

Helena resisted the urge to say, 'I know,' and said instead, "So I see." She
looked at the picture and laughed even though she already knew what was there.
"HA! And you've got that photo booth picture in it, too! Had I known it was going
in here, I would have posed better."

"I like it, Helena. It's the most you." Helena smiled at Barbara, then looked
down at the picture again. They did look happy and almost free together. "Help
me put it on?" Helena nodded, knowing what it meant. This time she could, and
this time they would. She carefully undid the clasp and put it around Barbara's
neck. When she moved back to look at the redhead, she saw that her eyes were
shimmering with tears. "I'll never take it off," she promised, and Helena was so
overcome with emotion, she could only kiss Barbara as a reply. She let herself
get lost in the feel of the redhead's lips as she felt every angry rage within
her die as a new fire roared in its place. Suddenly, Barbara broke the kisses
Helena left, and she caught her breath. "If we don't go back out there soon, I
don't think we ever will." Helena liked the sound of that, but she nodded.

"If you want... We can talk. Later."

"Yeah, later."

When they got back into the living room, both women were surprised to see that
Gibson had Misty's bad wrist in both gloved hands and was gently working on
re-bandaging it. From the looks of it, the new bandage would stay on longer than
Misty's one handed work would have. Misty seemed embarrassed by the wound itself,
not the fact that a guy was working on it. In fact, she was talking animatedly
about something else as Gibson worked, his face twisted in a look of deep
concentration as he made the appropriate comments to keep her chatting. Helena
looked at Dinah, who shrugged. She could tell that the blond thought it was sweet.

After Misty got bandaged up and advised by Barbara on how to keep the wound
clean enough so that it healed faster, and after everyone got their hot
chocolate, tea, coffee or cider, there was a small debate over which movies to
watch in which order before the group settled down. Twenty minutes into the
movie, there was a knock at the door, and Dinah jumped up as if someone had lit
her pajama pant leg on fire, passing an amused butler on the way. She put a
hand on the door knob and turned to Helena, who nodded in encouragement. It was
Gabby at the door, carrying a wrapped package under one arm and hugged Dinah
with the other one. Dinah rushed to her room where she got Gabby's gift, then
grabbed the two chocolate oranges Helena had bought when the brunette held them
up for her. "This is from me, and this is from my sister," she said shyly,
shifting from one foot to the other in the doorway.

"The S-C-R-O-O-G-E?"

"I can spell!" Helena called from the living room, and Misty giggled from her
spot next to Gibson on the floor.

"Sorry," Gabby called back, "And thank you!"

"Can I speak to you in the hallway?"

"Sure." Dinah disappeared outside the door, and Helena snuggled into Barbara as
she continued to watched 'White Christmas'.

Outside on the balcony of the apartment, the Ghost of Christmas Past and the
Ghost of Christmas Present stood, hands held as they watched the oblivious people
inside. Edgar looked at Francine, who smiled back at him. "We done good?" Edgar asked.

"Very good, but something is missing."

"What?"

"I don't know, but it's a feeling I've got."

"A woman's intuition can't be wrong."

"Now I know why I like you," Francine said with a grin. "Oh! We've got to say
'God bless us, everyone!' "

"Oh yeah, but who? Our Tiny Tim is a little busy at the moment, besides, don't
people get weird when God is mentioned anywhere?"

"Good point," Francine said. After a silence, she asked, "Was it weird? Your
experience with Helena?" When she turned to look at her companion, the dark skin
lightened, the black hair turned brown, and the brown eyes turned green. Edgar
was no longer there, but Wade Brixton was.

"Yeah, it was very odd to hear that for a small amount of time she wanted me
dead." Wade looked over at his companion to see that the woman's eyes were no
longer slanted, and they turned green, her skin also lightened, she grew an
inch, and her hair went from black to blonde. Where Francine stood, Carolyn
Lance took her spot. "What about you?"

"Yeah, it was. I never thought I'd see her the way I had last night. So scared.
And her will to fight me to get to a stranger's side surprised me as well. She
is not at all like I thought she was when I was alive."

I knew you two could do it," said a shadow inside the apartment. Selena Kyle
walked through the glass and joined them outside. She smiled at them, and looked
proud. Then she looked at their joined hands. "Well now, when did this happen?"

"Lasy night. Mistletoe incident at Bing Crosby's Christmas party not long after
you'd asked us to help your little Scrooge," Carolyn said, all in one breath.

"You two look cute together. So I had my reasons for casting you in the roles I
did. For you, Wade, Helena needed to say it, and you needed to hear it. If she
felt somehow that you could hear them, you could forgive her, and she would know
it. You weren't sure exactly why things were so bad that night, and in a way
that was your unfinished business. Now you can both move on. And Carolyn, I know
you didn't think highly of Helena because of me, and I know you were worried
that Dinah was looking up to the wrong person. Now that you've seen Helena in a
different light, and you know that she is really a good person, you know that
Dinah is right where she belongs."

"I do," Carolyn agreed.

"Thank you both. She wouldn't have made it through the night without your words to her."

"Just a second, Wade." Carolyn looked through the window once more and saw Dinah
walk back into the house, a book in her hand, but Carolyn was too far away to
see what it was. Her face was red with a blush on it, and she had an elfish grin
on her face. Dinah looked over to Helena who had a question in her eyes, which
only made Dinah's grin wider, and Helena gave a thumbs up. "Okay, now I can live
my afterlife," she said. With that, they said their goodbyes to Selena and
jumped, something Carolyn didn't exactly appreciate despite her past using
cables as Black Canary.

Selena looked in the window again and saw Helena looking down at the young man
and woman on the floor. She knew the look on her face immediately. Helena took
out the mistletoe decoration and waved it above them, and Selena saw a chant of
some sort on her lips. Gibson looked up and rolled his eyes. He tried to grab
for it, but Helena yanked it back as if she was playing with a kitten. Misty,
however, was blushing on the floor and tried to ignore the two friends as Helena
tried to get them to kiss, and as Gibson tried to grab the mistletoe from the
brunette. Then, after a moment, Gibson gave up and settled back down. Helena
dangled the mistletoe above them again, and Barbara touched her arm, but the
mistletoe suddenly left Helena's hands, and floated in the air, right above
Gibson and Misty. Gibson looked over at Dinah in a look that said 'traitor!'.
Dinah shrugged, and Gibson looked at Misty. He shrugged, with his arms out,
saying what looked to Selena like 'Let's get it over with' in that gesture.
There was a quick shrug in return, and she kissed him quickly before he could
really see what happened. There was a happy holler from Helena, and another
blush from Misty.

Then suddenly, Misty looked up at her and their eyes locked. There was
curiosity in her eyes, but she didn't seem frightened. She seemed to ask why
she was outside and not inside like most spirits she knew of. She gave a small
wave, and slowly, Selena waved back. When Gibson saw the movement, he looked at
where Misty's eyes were cast, but couldn't seem to see Selena. Misty shook her
head and dismissed Gibson's curious look and went back to the movie. "Merry
Christmas Kitten," Selena said to her daughter, who reached down and patted
Gibson, then Misty on the shoulder and then snuggled up again into Barbara, "I'm
so proud of you." Selena turned from the window and looked out at the white
sidewalk. She watched as Gabby walked and ate the chocolate orange with a happy
grin on her face. Selena thought she heard her humming 'Somewhere' from the
'West Side Story', but she was soon too far for even Catwoman to hear her. Then
Selena looked off in front of her, her suddenly feral eyes seeing nothing in
particular, then she said suddenly, "Oh Hell." She grinned and said, "God bless
us, everyone," then slowly, she faded away.